Help Is On The Way
by BadWolfKaily
Summary: Prompt: "The elevator is broken and the temperature keeps rising...what do now?"
It all quite literally happened by accident, Root was acting like a spoiled brat and got on Shaw's nerves. Wherein Shaw exploded with a rather harsh statement along the lines of having to do with wishing she had stayed with Samaritan because then she wouldn't have to put up with Root's childish behavior. Resulting in a very hurt puppy dog Root whose lip trembled and she looked away ashamed of herself. So without a word she grabbed her jacket and ran out of Shaw's apartment.

Sighing Shaw pinched her nose and ran after her, of course the moment the door to the elevator opened and Shaw caught up with Root she tripped. A literal trip, Sameen Shaw didn't trip, except for this one time. She tripped and hands out stretched she accidently pushed Root into the elevator. Regaining her balance she looked up to see Root staring back at her with a worried look of distress on her face.

Mid reach the elevator doors closed separating a very irritated Shaw from a very distressed looking Root. Crossing her arms across her chest Shaw thinks to herself for a minute before running towards the stairs. Stopping at the next elevator exit on the floor below Shaw waits for the door to open but nothing happens. Which is weird because it is stopped there, but she presses her ear against the door and listens. A light frantic pounding is heard and Shaw can almost make out Root screaming her name.

 _Shit._

She didn't realize how all of that would affect Root, she's usually so chipper and can handle things pretty well. But Shaw didn't realize how she could take that part of her for granted. She literally just told Root that she'd have rather stayed with Samaritan then be around her and then pushed her into an elevator that is apparently now stuck. The flashbacks to the stock exchange must have Root in a panic.

Looking at the camera in the corner of the room Shaw looks up, "Come on, help her! Override the door or something, I don't know, Root needs you."

But the camera just blinks back at her, growling Shaw knows she's going to have to do this the hard way. Running back up to her apartment Shaw grabs a crowbar, don't ask her why she has a crowbar on hand in her apartment but she does. But the moment she turns to run back to Root she again trips, fucking trips, a trained operative trips and knocks herself out on her coffee table.

Meanwhile Root is screaming trying to pry the door open, yelling at the camera in the corner of the elevator to please please open. She's not going about this whole situation the logical normal way she would because she's still stuck in the moment from the stock exchange playing in her head and she needs more than anything to make sure Shaw is safe. And things would be completely different and a whole lot better if Shaw was stuck in there with her. And suddenly she's getting claustrophobic and panicking, sliding down to sit on the floor and breathing heavily. She really hasn't liked elevators ever since that day, she always tries to take the steps if she can, unless the Machine needs her on something right away.

By the time Shaw comes to she's got a killer headache with a small gash right above her left eye. Looking to the clock on the wall that Root bought...stole...for her she's realized an hour has gone by.

 _Again. Shit._

Heaving herself up Shaw grabs the crowbar and heads back down the stairs and really no one has done a thing.

 _Does anyone else live in this damn building, geez?_

Getting to the elevator doors Shaw hopes Root is okay because she's awfully quiet, though she doesn't expect Root to still be yelling for an hour. Plunging the crowbar between the doors Shaw tries to pry the doors open the best she can putting those muscles of hers to work. It takes a few tries, grunting and growling she heaves the elevator doors open somehow. Maybe it's the fight-or-flight kicking in because she has to get to Root at any cost. Pushing the door open she see's Root cradled in the corner of the elevator, head in her arms resting on her knees.

"Root?"

Pushing the door open the rest of the way Shaw drops the crowbar and slowly makes her way over to the still form that is Root. It's not till she's crouched by her side that she notices Root's trembling and she hears a whispered chant coming from the hacker.

 _Fuck. I'm not good at this shit._

So Shaw reaches a hand out and lightly touches Root's arm, "Root? Root, come on, I don't have all day. My head hurts and I need to lay down I don't have the energy to deal with this right now."

But Root doesn't budge, it's like Shaw's words went in one ear and out the other. So Shaw picks up the crowbar and puts it in her back pocket and scoops an unresponsive Root into her arms. If Shaw is going to expend so much energy at the cost of Root it could be for something a little more fun. But she just sighs and holds a trembling Root to her chest as she carries her up the stairs to her apartment. Thank goodness for having muscles otherwise Root wouldn't have made it up the stairs in her arms.

Leave it to Shaw to have left her apartment door open in her haste to get to Root, kicking the door shut behind them Shaw makes her way to the couch and gently eases Root onto the couch. Pulling back becomes a bit difficult when she's got Root's hand latched onto her shirt. Sighing Shaw does the only thing she can think of in this situation and pries Root's hand from her shirt at the protest of a now less catatonic Root. But Shaw just shushes her and climbs onto the couch with her and a Root molding to the top of her like magnets.

"I'm sorry, Sam."

Shaw rubs a hand soothingly up and down the hackers back to calm her trembling and she hears her sniffle and warm drops soak through her shirt.

"Root, I…."

"It's all my fault, what happened to you that day, it was my fault. If I hadn't asked for your help-it should have been me."

Okay, yeah, this is happening now. Feelings talk.

"It's not your fault Root, I did it of my own free will. Remember? I do the protecting. Besides we both know you wouldn't have lasted as long as me against Samaritan. Besides you're the one that's helps us win this war. You're the hero of this story. You're relevant. It's okay now, Root. I'm here, I'm alive, you don't have to carry the burden of that day on your shoulders anymore. You saved the Machine. You saved me, in more ways than you know."

And that was all Root needed to hear, that it was okay, to be given permission to let go of this burden. She'd been waiting for something like that all this time, something like a storm. And Shaw just held her and she cried, grasping at Shaw like if she let go she'd disappear. Root didn't care if she let herself be vulnerable in that moment to Shaw, it was a long time coming. And Shaw understood, it was something Root needed.

After a while Root calmed down and Shaw thought perhaps she had fallen asleep but she heard a mumbled sentence from the exhausted hacker.

"I usually take the stairs. Ever since...I take the stairs. I don't know why I…."

Chuckling warmheartedly Shaw just smiled and spoke into Root's hair, "Stairs, yes please take them from now on. Things would be so much easier. Just don't fall down them for the love the Machine. Or I'll kick your ass before I have to bandage it."

Root sighed sleepily into Shaw's neck, "Promises, promises."


End file.
